CROWD OF PROTESTERS GATHERED AT FUNERAL OF JAPAN’S FORMER PRIME MINISTER SHINZO ABE

A mammoth crowd of protesters have gathered as a state funeral begins for Japan’s slain former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Leaders from around the world have arrived in Tokyo to pay tribute to the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister.

But protesters argue the event is using precious state resources that could be directed towards more pressing needs.
You will recall, Shinzo Abe, 67 years old, was gunned down at an election rally in July.

The alliances he forged to respond to China’s growing power came alongside big and unpopular changes to Japan’s pacifist constitution.

Some 20,000 police officers have reportedly been deployed – police admitted to flaws in the protection provided to Abe in July.